Sustainable Redevelopment involves reusing land that was previously used before. These pieces of land are commonly referred to by the terms Grayfields and Brownfields. Grayfields refer to land that was previously some sort of retail space that has since been abandoned due to a lack of business or the construction of other, more efficient shopping centers nearby. The term is appropriate because of the asphalt lots that are often left behind. Brownfields are pieces of land previously used for industrial or commercial purposes that are not being used anymore. Brownfields often have some degree of environmental contamination, which makes redevelopment difficult. A similar term, greenfields, is used to refer to land that is open and that has not been developed yet.
Relation to Sustainability
Sustainability is defined as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."[1]The three main factors of sustainability are social, economic, and environmental.[2]In order to truly achieve sustainability, all of these factors have to be met. The redevelopment of brownfields improve the environmental factor of sustainability. Once the environmentally harmful materials in the site are removed, environmentally sustainable redevelopment can proceed. If brownfield restoration is not undertaken, then future generations cannot meet their needs due to the harmful nature of brownfield sites. Additionally, because of the typical location of brownfield sites, pollutant levels and stormwater runoff are significantly less for brownfield developments than conventional developments.[3] This also helps environmental sustainability.
Festival Site Before
Grayfield redevelopment improves the social and economic factors of sustainability. Malls are often constructed as population centers move outward from the city.[4]However, once the population centers continue to move, malls become grayfield malls, and are often surrounded by moderate and low income housing.[5] Economically, the region is not very prosperous and socially, an abandoned mall is no sustainable for a community. Future generations are unable to meet basic needs, unless the region undergoes grayfield redevelopment. Socially, redevelopment of these areas includes "housing, retail, office, services, and public space."[6] One author calls them "community revitalization efforts,"[7] indicating the highly social aspect to these project. In addition to social sustainability, economic sustainability is also increased by these mixed use developments.
History
The presence of grayfields and brownfields has been greatly affected by urban sprawl. This concept has been outlined by Stephanie Feronti.[8]The increased mobility provided by the automobile has led to the rise of modern suburbia. People began to move away from their places of employment and high-density population areas; e.g. away from urban areas. In order to provide the population with their basic material needs, shopping centers began to move away from urban centers and out towards the suburbs, making the population even more reliant on the car and less reliable on public transportation, walking, and bicycling. However, once these shopping centers began to decline and outmoded by new shopping centers, many of them became vacant. In many cases, the population continued to move outwards. This also means that, if there were other areas that were environmentally harmful, it was popular to just build somewhere else. These environmentally harmful areas became brownfields, and the abandoned shopping malls became grayfields. Even though the process leading to brownfields and grayfields took place over a longer period, this particular area of study is relatively recent. The term Brownfields came into use in 1992 in a congressional hearing.[9]The recent nature of this issue is due to urban sprawl. The current pace of development of land (7%) is significantly greater than population growth (1%).[10]
Strategies
Business Based Development
In this model, the primary redevelopers are a business that sees a potential profit from redeveloping the property.[11]The process is similar to general land development, except special care is given to the environmental considerations. In order to ensure socioeconomic sustainability, three outcomes must be met: (1) brownfield sites must be removed from low income ad minority communities, (2) low income and minority communities must receive benefits from brownfield redevelopment, and (3) decisions must be made with the ability for the affected parties to participate. Normally, when redevelopment projects are evaluated, economic and environmental impacts are measured, yet social impacts on sustainability are seldom mentioned. The effect on the residents which reside in the community are seldom evaluated.
Community Based Development
In this model, the primary redevelopers are the community. The redevelopment is helped along by community based organizations. This model is preferred, in lieu of providing social sustainability, which is reached when the new development benefits the community in which it resides.
Successful Projects
The Ambridge Industrial Company in Ambridge, PA, was shut down in 1983 as a brownfield.[12]There were several environmental risks associated with the location including asphalt production and galbestos. The risks were successfully negated and the area was partially turned into a coffee sjop and historical area, since the area was important to the city. The Eastgate Mall in Chatanooga TN is an example of a grayfield mall that was redeveloped.[13] It was developed by Dover, Kohl & Partners. Additionally, over 300 local residents participated in the planning, as well as city officials, traffic consultants, and property owners. A key aspect of the project is that it was delivered in several stages, and emphasis was put on allowing pedestrian access to different parts of the development. The project was successful, leading to an increase in retail, social, and economic activity.
Impact on Construction Processes
Redeveloping grayfields and brownfields alter the construction process significantly. These construction projects are different than the standard construction processes from a greenfield, so the preliminary activities such grading and dozing will be drastically different. For a brownfield construction project, the environmental regulations before the project is undertaken are much more extensive than a normal construction project.
Recent Research
Recent research on brownfield redevelopment includes studies by the Brownfields Research Consortium,[14]the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials,[15] and the Environmental Protection Agency.[16] These interdisciplinary research teams help to develop research projects and case studies investigating how to clean up brownfield sites, how to efficiently develop these same sites, and a comparison of brownfield redevelopment to conventional development. Current research on grayfield redevelopment is less abundant than brownfield research. The Congress for New Urbanism[17] is continuing to research how to increase sustainability in this area. Several independent researchers[18][19][20] have conducted case studies based on a particular area of interest. This reflects the highly situational nature of research.
Brundtland, G.H., ed. (1987). Our Common Future: The Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, Oxford, U.K., Oxford University Press
Solitare, L, & Lowrie, K (2012). "Increasing the capacity of community development corporations for brownfield redevelopment: an inside-out approach." Local Environment, 17, 4, pp. 461-479.
Introduction
Table of Contents
Sustainable Redevelopment involves reusing land that was previously used before. These pieces of land are commonly referred to by the terms Grayfields and Brownfields. Grayfields refer to land that was previously some sort of retail space that has since been abandoned due to a lack of business or the construction of other, more efficient shopping centers nearby. The term is appropriate because of the asphalt lots that are often left behind. Brownfields are pieces of land previously used for industrial or commercial purposes that are not being used anymore. Brownfields often have some degree of environmental contamination, which makes redevelopment difficult. A similar term, greenfields, is used to refer to land that is open and that has not been developed yet.
Relation to Sustainability
Sustainability is defined as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."[1] The three main factors of sustainability are social, economic, and environmental.[2] In order to truly achieve sustainability, all of these factors have to be met. The redevelopment of brownfields improve the environmental factor of sustainability. Once the environmentally harmful materials in the site are removed, environmentally sustainable redevelopment can proceed. If brownfield restoration is not undertaken, then future generations cannot meet their needs due to the harmful nature of brownfield sites. Additionally, because of the typical location of brownfield sites, pollutant levels and stormwater runoff are significantly less for brownfield developments than conventional developments.[3] This also helps environmental sustainability.
Grayfield redevelopment improves the social and economic factors of sustainability. Malls are often constructed as population centers move outward from the city.[4] However, once the population centers continue to move, malls become grayfield malls, and are often surrounded by moderate and low income housing.[5] Economically, the region is not very prosperous and socially, an abandoned mall is no sustainable for a community. Future generations are unable to meet basic needs, unless the region undergoes grayfield redevelopment. Socially, redevelopment of these areas includes "housing, retail, office, services, and public space."[6] One author calls them "community revitalization efforts,"[7] indicating the highly social aspect to these project. In addition to social sustainability, economic sustainability is also increased by these mixed use developments.
History
The presence of grayfields and brownfields has been greatly affected by urban sprawl. This concept has been outlined by Stephanie Feronti.[8] The increased mobility provided by the automobile has led to the rise of modern suburbia. People began to move away from their places of employment and high-density population areas; e.g. away from urban areas. In order to provide the population with their basic material needs, shopping centers began to move away from urban centers and out towards the suburbs, making the population even more reliant on the car and less reliable on public transportation, walking, and bicycling. However, once these shopping centers began to decline and outmoded by new shopping centers, many of them became vacant. In many cases, the population continued to move outwards. This also means that, if there were other areas that were environmentally harmful, it was popular to just build somewhere else. These environmentally harmful areas became brownfields, and the abandoned shopping malls became grayfields.
Even though the process leading to brownfields and grayfields took place over a longer period, this particular area of study is relatively recent. The term Brownfields came into use in 1992 in a congressional hearing.[9] The recent nature of this issue is due to urban sprawl. The current pace of development of land (7%) is significantly greater than population growth (1%).[10]
Strategies
Business Based Development
In this model, the primary redevelopers are a business that sees a potential profit from redeveloping the property.[11] The process is similar to general land development, except special care is given to the environmental considerations. In order to ensure socioeconomic sustainability, three outcomes must be met: (1) brownfield sites must be removed from low income ad minority communities, (2) low income and minority communities must receive benefits from brownfield redevelopment, and (3) decisions must be made with the ability for the affected parties to participate. Normally, when redevelopment projects are evaluated, economic and environmental impacts are measured, yet social impacts on sustainability are seldom mentioned. The effect on the residents which reside in the community are seldom evaluated.Community Based Development
In this model, the primary redevelopers are the community. The redevelopment is helped along by community based organizations. This model is preferred, in lieu of providing social sustainability, which is reached when the new development benefits the community in which it resides.Successful Projects
The Ambridge Industrial Company in Ambridge, PA, was shut down in 1983 as a brownfield.[12] There were several environmental risks associated with the location including asphalt production and galbestos. The risks were successfully negated and the area was partially turned into a coffee sjop and historical area, since the area was important to the city.
The Eastgate Mall in Chatanooga TN is an example of a grayfield mall that was redeveloped.[13]
It was developed by Dover, Kohl & Partners. Additionally, over 300 local residents participated in the planning, as well as city officials, traffic consultants, and property owners. A key aspect of the project is that it was delivered in several stages, and emphasis was put on allowing pedestrian access to different parts of the development. The project was successful, leading to an increase in retail, social, and economic activity.
Impact on Construction Processes
Redeveloping grayfields and brownfields alter the construction process significantly. These construction projects are different than the standard construction processes from a greenfield, so the preliminary activities such grading and dozing will be drastically different. For a brownfield construction project, the environmental regulations before the project is undertaken are much more extensive than a normal construction project.
Recent Research
Recent research on brownfield redevelopment includes studies by the Brownfields Research Consortium,[14] the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials,[15] and the Environmental Protection Agency.[16] These interdisciplinary research teams help to develop research projects and case studies investigating how to clean up brownfield sites, how to efficiently develop these same sites, and a comparison of brownfield redevelopment to conventional development.
Current research on grayfield redevelopment is less abundant than brownfield research. The Congress for New Urbanism[17] is continuing to research how to increase sustainability in this area. Several independent researchers[18] [19] [20] have conducted case studies based on a particular area of interest. This reflects the highly situational nature of research.
Brundtland, G.H., ed. (1987). Our Common Future: The Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, Oxford, U.K., Oxford University Press
Pittsburg State University (2013). "What is Sustainability?" <http://www.pittstate.edu/office/president/initiatives/sustainability/what-is-sustainability.dot> (Dec. 3 2013).
Environmental Protection Agency (2011). "Air and Water Quality Impacts of Brownfields Redevelopment." <http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/sustain_plts/factsheets/air-water-fs-032811-508.pdf> (Dec. 4, 2013).
Urban Collage.com. Redevelopment of Grayfields. <http://urbancollage.com/wp-content/uploads/Greyfields_Redevelopment_Report.pdf> (Dec. 3 2013).
Urban Collage.com. Redevelopment of Grayfields. <http://urbancollage.com/wp-content/uploads/Greyfields_Redevelopment_Report.pdf> (Dec. 3 2013).
Feronti, Stephanie McCusker (2003). "Greyfield Redevelopment for Community Revitalization: An Exploration of Applications." <http://etd.fcla.edu/UF/UFE0000682/feronti_s.pdf> (Dec 4 2013).
Environmental Protection Agency (2006). "Brownfields Program Achievements Linked to Early Success." <http://nepis.epa.gov/Adobe/PDF/P100829D..pdf> (Dec. 3 2013).
Urban Collage.com. Redevelopment of Grayfields. <http://urbancollage.com/wp-content/uploads/Greyfields_Redevelopment_Report.pdf> (Dec. 3 2013).
Solitare, L, & Lowrie, K (2012). "Increasing the capacity of community development corporations for brownfield redevelopment: an inside-out approach." Local Environment, 17, 4, pp. 461-479.
Western Pennsylvania Brownfields Center. "The Moltini and Nardelli Development in Ambridge Area." http://www.cmu.edu/steinbrenner/brownfields/Case%20Studies/pdf/ambridge%20UPDATED.pdf> (Dec 4 2013).
Urban Collage.com. Redevelopment of Grayfields. <http://urbancollage.com/wp-content/uploads/Greyfields_Redevelopment_Report.pdf> (Dec. 3 2013).
http://www4.uwm.edu/milwaukeeidea/ceo/brownfields/
http://www.astswmo.org/Pages/Who_We_Are/Subcommittees/CERCLA_and_Brownfields.htm
http://www.sisr.net/newton/Newton%20Built%20Environment%20Final%20PDF.pdf